The Story of Us
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Two people that were meant to be, yet had to wait decades for it to happen. It was a true modern fairytale, one that you wouldn't find in any old Disney movie. 'I want a love like that.' Emma thought to herself. She had it and she had lost it. Now she was living more of a Shakespearean tragedy.


Bauerfanstraten sent me a prompt requesting a Star Swan one shot based on "The Story of Us" by Taylor Swift.

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 _We need a break._

Four words that shattered Emma's soul. As much as they hurt, though, she'd be a liar if she said she didn't understand why.

Things had been great for a while. Their families had buried the hatchet, there was no longer awkward glares across the table. Henry adored Lily and looked forward to his weekends with Emma so he could spend time with both women.

Emma and Lily were both broken women. Finding love hadn't changed that and they didn't expect it to. However, it lead to insecurities. Every previous relationship they had, ended in heartbreak. There were times that they seemed so guarded around each other, afraid to let the other in. One night in a drunken stupor, Emma admitted what she had been keeping in for months.

 _I'm scared you'll hurt me again._

Lily knew she could've argued with Emma, she could've said that was in the past. With the help of Archie and Maleficent, she had learned that she really could control her darkness, just as Emma had to work on being light. She was no longer making the same reckless choices she once was. She didn't want to ruin things for Emma ever again.

Yet, the fear was there. She could slip up, easily hurt Emma once again. This time, there was more at stake. Emma had an actual family, she had a _child_.

Emma knew she could tell Lily the rest of the truth, that she was hurt of hurting her other half as well. But, it seemed to be too late. They were on a break, free to see whoever they felt fit.

They did their best to avoid each other and did for as long as they could. Storybrooke was a small town, but with their magic, they could vanish away any time they needed. Then an event came about that neither of them could avoid: Maleficent and Regina's wedding.

Both were in the wedding party. Lily was Maleficent's daughter, Emma was Regina's best friend. It was a small wedding, little fuss. The brides had refused a bridal shower or even bachelorette parties. The prep happened so quickly that they didn't even have time for proper dress fittings. Maleficent and Regina just used their magic to make sure everything would fit properly in time for the big day. They both asked the exes if they were sure that they were okay with everything and they promised that they could handle it. The day wasn't about them after all.

The day of the wedding, Emma coughed as Snow drenched her hair in hairspray to make sure her bun stayed up right. Lily entered the room and Emma had to do her best to keep her mouth from dropping open. She looked beautiful, her straight hair staying in place as it always seemed to. She had gone light with the makeup, yet it seemed to accent just the right places. The navy blue dress hit just above her knees and did a good job of showing off the right amount of cleavage. Her usual moon necklace hung just above that, shining under the lighting.

Emma fiddled with her own matching dress, which was accenting her own curves. Snow looked over at Lily and gave her a friendly smile.

"You look beautiful, Lily."

"Thank you." Lily gave her a small nod. "I was just here to get my flowers."

"Right here." Snow passed them over to her.

She wasn't saying two words to Emma. It was as if she wasn't even there at all, while Emma felt as though her whole world was sinking in. She missed Lily, she wanted her in her arms.

Yet, there she was. Acting as if nothing was bothering her at all.

Regina walked into the back room, wearing the dress she had always dreamed of. Her first wedding had been all Cora and Leopold's doing. This time, it could be everything she wanted. It wasn't at all the one a queen would've worn, it was form fitting and almost a little tight, but she didn't care. Snow looked misty eyed as she wrapped Regina into a big hug.

"Alright Snow, let's not get mascara on my dress. I'd prefer not to wear black today," Regina said with a smirk.

"Have you seen my mom?" Lily asked.

"Well tradition says it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, but we're not going with tradition." Regina's smirk only grew. "She's looking quite sexy."

Lily made a face. "I was merely asking if you had seen her because I have her necklace, but thanks for the image." She headed towards the door.

"Hurry back. You and Emma are walking down the aisle right after Peanut and Neal."

Lily swiftly nodded and headed out of the room. Emma let out a quick sigh, smoothing down her dress yet again. Just a few more hours, that was all she had to get through.

Not much later, from behind the curtain, they watched Neal and Robin's daughter walk down the aisle together. Adjusting the dahlia bouquets in their arms, Lily and Emma headed down the aisle side by side. Months ago, they would've walked arm in arm, smiling at each other. Instead their smiles were directed to the front, where Maleficent stood. She was wearing an off the shoulder dress, her curls freely flowing down her back. It was one of the few times that Emma had actually seen her with her hair down.

They stood side by side, listening as Archie presided over the ceremony. Regina and Maleficent made their vows about love and forever. Two people that were meant to be, yet had to wait decades for it to happen. It was a true modern fairytale, one that you wouldn't find in any old Disney movie.

 _I want a love like that._ Emma thought to herself.

She had it and she had lost it. Now she was living more of a Shakespearean tragedy.

At the reception, she sat alone at her table, picking at a slice of cake. Almost every couple was out on the dance floor: Maleficent and Regina, Snow and David, Ruby and Dorothy, Mulan and Aurora, even Henry and Violet. She shoved the too-sweet sugar rose into her mouth, in an attempt to remove some of the bitter.

There was a sharp tap to her shoulder. Her head jolted up to find Lily standing there, the emotion on her face unreadable.

"You wanna dance?" She asked.

Emma raised an eyebrow. "You…you want to dance with me?"

"Yeah."

Emma slowly took her hand and followed her out onto the floor. She wrapped her arms around Lily's neck, while she felt the former's go around her waist. Everyone had their eyes on them, but they didn't look at anyone but each other.

"What is this, Lily?" Emma asked. "I thought…"

"I don't want to be like my mom."

"What?"

"I don't want to wait 30 years to be with you again. I can't wait that long for us, I need us now."

Tears prickled Emma's eyes. "What if I hurt you?"

"I think we need to see Archie, couple's therapy. I'm willing to do anything, Emma. I just know what I want."

"And what's that?"

"You."

Maybe, just maybe, they were living their own modern fairytale after all…

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As always, I do accept prompts! Whether it be on here, my Tumblrs: just-an-outlaw & justanoutlawfanfiction or my Twitter: justanoutlawfic.


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